Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 72,826 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,222 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.0% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $66,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,008.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $447.37 billion, a PE ratio of 59.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $746.48 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $961.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $959.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.